Written by Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White
Nantwich Town recorded their biggest ever win in the Cheshire Senior Cup with a 10-1 win over Runcorn Town at the Swansway Stadium.
The visitors from 2 divisions lower had injury issues which meant a relatively inexperienced side was put out. Just 3 minutes in, Kai Evans was felled in the penalty area and Sean Cooke stepped up to slam it in down the middle.
AJ Leitch-Smith, making his first start since returning from injury, kept the ball alive from a corner but no one was alive to finish the chance.
On 15 minutes, the Dabbers doubled the lead. A ball was swung in and met firmly by Mo Ali who saw his header hit the post but was alert to tap in the rebound for his 3rd of the season.
Jake Kirby got a chance after being played in but Dane Byron did well to dive at his feet and push it away.
Leitch-Smith then saw a brilliant volley really well saved by Byron, one of those that he saw all the way onto his foot.
AJ was seeing plenty of action but couldn’t quite get the goal to show for it, getting round Byron but seeing the ball nicked off him for a corner.
Mo Ali won another header that was almost turned in by Bourne at the back post, before Mo then had the ball in the net again but the referee had blown for a foul.
In the second half, the Dabbers really put their foot on the accelerator in a ruthless display. Kai Evans got Nantwich’s third with a tidy finish from an excellent pass from Cooke.
Leitch-Smith and Evans had chances stopped by Byron, before the fourth goal came via Paddy Kay, a low shot into the back of the net for his first Nantwich goal.
Incredibly, Leitch-Smith was denied again with a deflection stopping a certain goal. Then, Kai used some space in the box to curl in the Dabbers’ fifth and his 6th of the season.
Ahmed Ali, Evans and Bourne all caused more danger before the first decent chance for Runcorn came with a Neil Weaver shot that was not far wide.
On 71 minutes, Leitch-Smith finally got his goal with a lovely dink into the corner. It would have been easy for him to rush the finish with the chances he’d already had but that was anything but rushed.
8 minutes later was a great moment for young Ollie Holden, who tapped in to get his first senior Dabbers goal off the bench. A product of the Dabbers youth setup, he almost got a second minutes later were it not for a good save from Byron.
Number eight came courtesy of Jake Kirby, his first Nantwich goal as well and a first goal in several years after his extended sabbatical from football.
The goals continued, an extraordinary ninth coming via Cooke’s head. While it was irrelevant for the result, it took Sean clear in third in the all time scoring charts for the Dabbers, another great achievement in a stellar Nantwich career.
Double figures were reached via the very unfortunate Keane Joyce who turned a Perry Bircumshaw cross into his own net. While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Perry’s performance was enough to earn him the man of the match.
To their credit, Runcorn Town never gave up as the goals racked up, and got one of their own with the last kick of the game from substitute Joshua Odukomaya to give their hardy travelling fans something to cheer about.
So the biggest ever Cheshire Cup win for the Dabbers, beating a record from 1932. The first time the men’s team have scored 10 and won by 9 since 1995, the biggest Nantwich men’s win at the Swansway Stadium since it opened in 2007, and the joint most goals scored in a men’s game at the Swansway Stadium. Thanks to Michael Chatwin for these statistics proving what a crazy night it was.
The Dabbers will host Witton Albion in the Second Round next month. But much bigger games to come in the meantime, starting this Saturday with the FA Trophy visit of Chester FC.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Danny Roberts, Troy Bourne, Perry Bircumshaw, Ahmed Ali (Steven Hewitt, 64), Nathan Okome (Adam Carden, 72), Mo Ali, Jake Kirby, Paddy Kay, AJ Leitch-Smith (Ollie Holden, 72), Sean Cooke, Kai Evans
Subs not used: Scott Butler, James Speare
Goals: Cooke (4 [pen], 87), M.Ali (15), Evans (51, 58), Kay (55), Leitch-Smith (71), Holden (79), Kirby (84), Joyce (og, 89)
Runcorn Town: Dane Byron, Bailey Grant, Stephen Brown (Chris Cordana-Soanes, 68), Samuel Stephens, Keane Joyce, Ben Dooley, Adam Idowu, Neil Weaver (Ben Dobbie, 84), Jamie Apperley, Jacob Barratt (Joshua Odukomaya, 64), Joseph Hampson
Sub not used: Michael Thompson
Goal: Odukomaya (90+1)
Attendance: 221